IDOT official pleads guilty to drunk driving

Illinois Department of Transportation official Carmen Iacullo leaves the DuPage County Courthouse on Wednesday after pleading guilty to misdemeanor driving while intoxicated.

Illinois Department of Transportation official Carmen Iacullo leaves the DuPage County Courthouse on Wednesday after pleading guilty to misdemeanor driving while intoxicated. (Chuck Berman, Chicago Tribune)

Clifford WardSpecial to the Tribune

An Illinois Department of Transportation official who pleaded guilty to drunken driving Wednesday was suspended without pay for 30 days and will be reassigned to new duties, the transportation agency announced.

Carmen Iacullo, 58, a regional operations manager for IDOT, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor DUI at the DuPage County courthouse. He was arrested Nov. 20 in Wood Dale.

As part of his plea, Iacullo was ordered by Judge Liam Brennan to wear an alcohol-monitoring device on his ankle for six months. He also was sentenced to one year of supervision and ordered to pay a $1,000 fine and attend a victim-impact panel, Wood Dale city prosecutor Demetri Panoushis said.

According to a statement from IDOT, Iacullo also will not have access to state vehicles, and any “recurrence will result in immediate dismissal.”

Iacullo, who has represented IDOT at several safe driving programs, was stopped by Wood Dale police just after midnight on Nov. 20 for improper lane usage.

He was cited for DUI when the officer smelled alcohol on Iacullo’s breath, and Iacullo subsequently failed a field sobriety test, according to police. A breathalyzer test his blood-alcohol level at .098, which is above the legal limit of .08, according to court records.

IDOT released the following statement Wednesday afternoon: “Today’s ruling has resulted in a 30-day unpaid suspension and reassignment from operations manager for IDOT’s District 1 to administrative duties with access to state vehicles prohibited. Any recurrence will result in immediate dismissal. The Illinois Department of Transportation takes these issues very seriously. Violations by any of its employees will not be tolerated.”

The alcohol-monitoring anklet detects alcohol use through the skin. Panoushis said it is unusual for a first-time offender like Iacullo to be outfitted with the device, but it was not possible to install any state-owned vehicle Iacullo may drive with a device that tests blood-alcohol content.

“This is more stringent, but he accepted it willingly,” Panoushis said.

Iacullo, a Chicago resident, was driving his own vehicle when he was stopped, according to police.

Iacullo and his attorney, Sam Tornatore, declined to comment after entering the plea before Brennan.

Iacullo had remained on the job following his arrest, according to IDOT.